2. Mindfulness Meditation and Relaxation Techniques
Cancer affects much more than the body. “Many patients are coping with uncertainty, stress, anxiety, and disrupted sleep while navigating treatment and everyday life,” Lee says.
Mind-body interventions like mindfulness meditation (the practice of intentionally drawing your attention to the present moment without judgement), guided imagery, and progressive muscle relaxation can help individuals develop practical tools for managing stress, improving sleep, and coping with difficult emotions, he says.
One review of 14 studies involving 2,224 people with breast cancer found that those who practiced mindfulness experienced more relief from stress, anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances than those who did not.
Guided imagery, a relaxation technique that directs your thoughts to a calming, peaceful place, has also been shown to improve quality of life in people with breast cancer. In one study of 68 people with breast cancer, 34 underwent a 12-week program that included a guided imagery practice, while 34 received standard treatment without this intervention. Those in the guided imagery group were more likely to engage in healthy lifestyle behaviors such as physical activity, nutrition, and stress management, and they reported more improvement in quality of life than those in the group without guided imagery.
Similarly, progressive muscle relaxation, a technique that involves systematically tensing and releasing muscle groups throughout the body, has been shown to reduce anxiety and improve quality of life in people with cancer.
“These therapies carry virtually no physical harm and are exceptionally safe for metastatic breast cancer patients to pursue,” Umeda says.
